Semiconductor device, correction method in semiconductor device, and correction method of camera module

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device coupled to a device that outputs positional information representing a position, the semiconductor device including: a first external terminal to which the positional information is supplied; and a second external terminal, wherein sensitivity deviation information representing the deviation of the sensitivity of the device is received through the second external terminal, and a gain to amplify the positional information from the first external terminal is set on the basis of the sensitivity deviation information; wherein the first external terminal and the second external terminal are the same external terminals, and the positional information and the sensitivity deviation information are supplied in a time-division manner, wherein the device outputs a deviation between the sensitivity of the device and a predetermined sensitivity as the sensitivity deviation information, and wherein the semiconductor device includes a gain control amplifier that amplifies the positional information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/967,060, filed on Dec. 11, 2015, which is basedon Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-030538 filed on Feb. 19, 2015including the specification, drawings and abstract, incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a correctionmethod in a semiconductor device, and a correction method of a cameramodule, and particularly to a semiconductor device that processespositional information from a gyro sensor and a camera module using thegyro sensor.

A gyro sensor is a sensor to detect an angular velocity, and has beenused to detect a camera shake of a video camera or the like in recentyears. The gyro sensor is described in, for example, Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2014-98613.

SUMMARY

For example, in the case where a camera shake is detected using a gyrosensor, used is a camera module obtained by integrating a lens of acamera, an optical sensor that takes an image passing through the lens,a gyro sensor, and a semiconductor device that controls the lens or theoptical sensor using positional information from the gyro sensor. Inthis case, the semiconductor device recognizes a positional change ofthe camera module due to a camera shake using the positional informationoutput from the gyro sensor, and controls the lens or the optical sensorso as to correct the displacement and the amount of displacement of animaging point of an image on the optical sensor caused by the camerashake. There is a lens shift system as a system of controlling a lens,and there is a sensor shift system as a system of controlling an opticalsensor. Further, the lens shift system includes, for example, a lensbarrel system in which a lens is moved in parallel with an opticalsensor, a lens tilt system in which a lens is tilted, and the like.Further, other than the lens shift system and the sensor shift system,there is a module tilt system in which an optical image stabilizer (OIS)including a lens and an optical sensor is tilted.

Even in the case of adopting either system, a gyro sensor manufacturedin a gyro sensor manufacturing process in which gyro sensors aremanufactured is assembled into a camera module in a module assemblyprocess. In this case, the sensitivity of the manufactured gyro sensoris corrected so as to fall within a predetermined range in the gyrosensor manufacturing process. The sensitivity of the gyro sensor is thevalue of positional information output from the gyro sensor when theangular velocity is changed by, for example, 1. The positionalinformation is represented using, for example, a digital value.Accordingly, provided is a gyro sensor that outputs, as positionalinformation, a digital value corrected so as to fall within apredetermined range (between a second digital value larger than a firstdigital value that is the center value and a third digital value smallerthan the first digital value) when the angular velocity is changed by 1.

In other words, in the case of a plurality of gyro sensors, thesensitivity of each gyro sensor varies in a predetermined range due tothe characteristics of each gyro sensor. Specifically, a deviation(sensitivity deviation) occurs in the sensitivity among the gyrosensors. Therefore, when a camera module is assembled using a gyrosensor, the swing suppression ratio of the camera module differsdepending on each camera module. In this case, the swing suppressionratio is a ratio of the amounts of change of a captured image when acamera shake correction function is activated and inactivated. It isobvious that in the case where the swing suppression ratio is small, theamount of change becomes smaller when the camera shake correctionfunction is activated. Thus, the swing suppression ratio is desirablysmall.

In order to minimize the swing suppression ratio of each camera module,it is conceivable that, for example, each of assembled camera modules isvibrated (application of vibration), and the characteristics of asemiconductor device that controls a lens or an optical sensor are setfor each camera module. In this case, it is necessary to vibrate thecamera module.

An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor devicethat can suppress the cost of a camera module from increasing.

The above-described and other objects and novel features of the presentinvention will become apparent from the description of the specificationand the accompanying drawings.

The following is a summary of a representative outline of the inventiondisclosed in the application.

Specifically, a semiconductor device coupled to a device that outputspositional information includes a first external terminal to which thepositional information is supplied, and a second external terminal.Sensitivity deviation information representing the deviation of thesensitivity of the device is received through the second externalterminal, and a gain to amplify the positional information from thefirst external terminal is set on the basis of the sensitivity deviationinformation. By setting the gain to amplify the positional informationon the basis of the sensitivity deviation information, even if thesensitivity differs among the devices, the gain to amplify thepositional information is associated with the sensitivity of eachdevice. Accordingly, the swing suppression ratio can be minimizedwithout vibrating each module having the device mounted, and the costcan be suppressed from being increased.

In an embodiment, the first external terminal and the second externalterminal are the same external terminals, and the positional informationand the sensitivity deviation information are supplied in atime-division manner. Accordingly, the number of external terminals ofthe semiconductor device can be suppressed from being increased, and thecost can be further suppressed from being increased.

In the embodiment, a deviation between the sensitivity (digital value)of the device and a predetermined sensitivity (first digital value) isused as the sensitivity deviation information.

The following is a summary of effects obtained from the representativeinvention disclosed in the application.

It is possible to provide a semiconductor device that can suppress thecost of a camera module from increasing.

Further, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device that canreduce the number of processes.

Furthermore, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device that canreduce the number of facilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view,respectively, each showing a schematic configuration of a camera moduleaccording to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of a gyro sensoraccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of a semiconductordevice according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for showing a correction method of a camera moduleaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of a semiconductordevice according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an outline of camerashake correction; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for showing a correction method examined prior tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail on the basis of the drawings. It should be noted that the sameconstitutional elements are given the same reference numerals inprinciple in the all drawings for explaining the embodiments, and therepetitive explanation thereof will be omitted in principle.

Further, an example of camera shake correction of a camera module usinga gyro sensor will be described in the following embodiments. However,the present invention is not limited to the camera module.

First Embodiment <Outline of Camera Shake Correction>

First, an outline of camera shake correction in which the displacementand displacement amount of an imaging point caused by a camera shake arecorrected will be described. There are various methods of camera shakecorrection as described above. In the specification, camera shakecorrection adopting a lens shift system will be described. It is obviousthat the present invention is not limited to the lens shift system, butvarious systems can be adopted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram for showing an outline ofcamera shake correction adopting a lens shift system. In FIG. 6, thereference numeral 1 denotes a housing of a camera (camera housing). Inthe camera housing 1, provided are a main lens 5, a sub-lens 6, and anoptical sensor 7. In a state where the camera housing 1 is immobilized,an image 4 is imaged onto the optical sensor 7 through the main lens 5and the sub-lens 6. In this case, an optical axis passing through thecenter of the main lens 5 is represented by the reference numeral 3, andis imaged onto a center position 2 of the optical sensor 7.

In the case where the camera housing 1 is swung in the directionrepresented by the arrow A in FIG. 6 due to a camera shake, the camerahousing 1 is displaced to a state 1A represented by an alternate longand short dash line in FIG. 6. Along with this, the optical sensor 7 isalso displaced to a position represented by the reference numeral 7A inFIG. 6. The optical axis 3 reaches a position 2C displaced from thecenter position of the optical sensor 7 without camera shake correction,and is imaged at the position 2C. On the contrary, the camera shakecorrection of the lens shift system shifts (moves) the position of thesub-lens 6, and the sub-lens 6 is displaced to a state 6A. In thisexample, the sub-lens 6 is shifted downward in FIG. 6. When the sub-lens6 is shifted downward, light having reached the center of the sub-lens 6reaches a peripheral position displaced from the center. The refractiveindex at the center of the sub-lens 6 is different from that at aperipheral position. Thus, the optical axis 3 is refracted as shown bythe reference numeral 3A, and reaches a center position 2A of theoptical sensor represented by the reference numeral 7A to be imaged ontothe center position 2A.

Accordingly, if the camera housing 1 is swung due to a camera shake, thepositions where the images are imaged can be the same. It should benoted that the camera having the main lens 5 and the sub-lens 6 has beendescribed in FIG. 6, but only the sub-lens 6 may be provided withoutproviding the main lens 5.

<Configuration of Camera Module>

FIG. 1 are block diagrams each schematically showing a configuration ofa camera module. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the camera module viewed inthe direction where the optical sensor is viewed through the lens.Further, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B′ inthe plan view shown in FIG. 1A. Next, a configuration of a camera module10 will be described using FIGS. 1A and 1B.

The camera module 10 includes a substrate 20, a housing 19, a gyrosensor 16, a semiconductor device 17, and a connector 18. The housing19, the gyro sensor 16, the semiconductor device 17, and the connector18 are mounted and integrated on the single substrate 20. The housing 19includes an optical sensor 11, an optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit22, magnets 13 a to 13 d, voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d, hole sensors15 a and 15 b, and suspensions 21 a and 21 b for movably supporting theoptical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22.

The lens shift system is adopted in the first embodiment, and thus theoptical sensor 11 is mounted and fixed on the substrate 20. On the otherhand, the optical image stabilizer unit 22 has a lens 12, and is movablyfixed to the substrate 20 through the suspensions 21 a and 21 b.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the magnets 13 a to 13 d are fixed and attached tothe optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 so as to surround the same.Applying a driving signal to the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 dgenerates magnetic fields in the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d. Actionand reaction between the magnetic fields generated in the voice coilmotors 14 a to 14 d and those generated in the magnets 13 a to 13 dallow the optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 to move in the verticaland horizontal directions in FIG. 1A. Specifically, applying a drivingsignal with a proper voltage to each of the voice coil motors 14 a to 14d allows the optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 to be able toarbitrarily move in the vertical and horizontal directions by anarbitrary distance. In FIG. 1B, areas where the optical image stabilizer(OIS) unit 22 and the magnets 13 a to 13 d are moved in the horizontaldirection are shown using dashed lines.

Further, when the magnets 13 a to 13 d and the optical image stabilizerunit 22 are moved by the magnetic fields generated by the voice coilmotors 14 a to 14 d, the hole sensors 15 a and 15 b provided in thehousing 19 detect a change in the magnetic fields generated by themagnets 13 b to 13 c and output the amount of change.

When the camera module 10 is swung due to a camera shake and theposition thereof is changed, the gyro sensor 16 outputs positionalinformation representing the change of the position and sensitivitydeviation information representing the deviation of the sensitivity ofthe gyro sensor 16.

In response to the positional information and the sensitivity deviationinformation from the gyro sensor 16 and outputs from the hole sensors 15a and 15 b, the semiconductor device 17 supplies a driving signal to thevoice coil motors 14 a to 14 d. The driving signal from thesemiconductor device 17 controls the magnetic fields generated in thevoice coil motors 14 a to 14 d. From the point of view of controllingthe voice coil motors, the semiconductor device 17 can be regarded as amotor driving semiconductor device.

The optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 has the lens 12 arrangedparallel to the optical sensor 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, theoptical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 is moved in the horizontaldirection by controlling the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d with thedriving signal from the semiconductor device 17. Accordingly, as shownby solid arrows in FIG. 1B, the lens 12 is also moved in the horizontaldirection. Specifically, the lens 12 is moved in the horizontaldirection while keeping the parallel state with the optical sensor 11.Accordingly, as described in FIG. 6, the position of the lens with whichthe optical axis is contacted is changed, and the refractive indexrelative to light is changed. Thus, the camera shake is corrected.

An image signal output from the optical sensor 11 is output outside thecamera module 10 through the connector 18. Further, a signal controllingthe semiconductor device 17 is supplied from the outside of the cameramodule 10 to the semiconductor device 17 through the connector 18.However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this. Itshould be noted that, for example, a so-called CMOS sensor is used asthe optical sensor 11. It is obvious that the present invention is notlimited to the CMOS sensor.

<Configuration of Gyro Sensor 16>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of the gyro sensor16. The gyro sensor 16 has a plurality of external terminals. However,one external terminal 34 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The external terminal34 is coupled to an external terminal of the semiconductor device 17, tobe described later, on the substrate 20 (FIG. 1). The external terminal34 is an input/output terminal for serial communications, and a firstinput/output terminal IO1 of a serial communication circuit 32 iscoupled to the external terminal 34.

The serial communication circuit 32 has the first input/output terminalIO1 and a second input/output terminal IO2, and the second input/outputterminal IO2 is coupled to a common terminal C of a switch 35 and acontrol circuit 33. The control circuit 33 couples the common terminalof the switch 35 to a first terminal Pk or a second terminal Pd inaccordance with designation information supplied from the secondinput/output terminal IO2. An output of a first register (first holdingcircuit) 30 is supplied to the first terminal Pk of the switch 35, andan output of a second register (second holding circuit) 31 is suppliedto the second terminal Pd of the switch 35.

In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 36 denotes an angular velocitydetection unit that outputs positional information in accordance with anangular velocity. The angular velocity detection unit 36 has, forexample, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and outputs positionalinformation of a digital value. The positional information from theangular velocity detection unit 36 is stored in the second register 31.Further, as will be described later using FIG. 4, when the sensitivitydeviation of the gyro sensor 16 is calibrated in a gyro sensormanufacturing process, the sensitivity deviation informationrepresenting the corrected sensitivity deviation is stored (memorized)in the first register 30.

When instruction information instructing the register from thesemiconductor device 17 is supplied through the external terminal 34,the serial communication circuit 32 supplies the instruction informationto the control circuit 33. The control circuit 33 controls the switch 35in accordance with the supplied instruction information. Specifically,when the instruction information instructing to output the positionalinformation is supplied from the semiconductor device 17 to the controlcircuit 33 through the external terminal 34 and the serial communicationcircuit 32, the control circuit 33 couples the common terminal C of theswitch 35 to the second terminal Pd. Accordingly, the positionalinformation stored in the second register 31 is supplied to the secondinput/output terminal IO2 of the serial communication circuit 32 throughthe switch 35. The serial communication circuit 32 supplies thepositional information supplied to the second input/output terminal IO2to the semiconductor device 17 as serial data through the externalterminal 34.

On the other hand, when the instruction information instructing tooutput the sensitivity deviation information is supplied from thesemiconductor device 17 to the control circuit 33 through the externalterminal 34 and the serial communication circuit 32, the control circuit33 couples the common terminal C of the switch 35 to the first terminalPk. Accordingly, the sensitivity deviation information of the gyrosensor 16 stored in the first register 30 is supplied to the secondinput/output terminal IO2 of the serial communication circuit 32 throughthe switch 35. The serial communication circuit 32 supplies thesensitivity deviation information supplied to the second input/outputterminal IO2 to the semiconductor device 17 as serial data through theexternal terminal 34.

Address information can be used as the designation information outputfrom the semiconductor device 17. In this case, for example, a firstaddress is assigned to the first register 30, and a second addressdifferent from the first address is assigned to the second register 31.The control circuit 33 determines whether the address information thatis the designation information designates the first address or thesecond address. Accordingly, the control circuit 33 supplies thesensitivity deviation information stored in the first register 30 or thepositional information stored in the second register 31 to the secondinput/output terminal IO2 of the serial communication circuit 32 inaccordance with the address information.

Accordingly, the gyro sensor 16 can output the positional informationand the sensitivity deviation information from the external terminal 34in a time-division manner. In this case, the number of externalterminals of the gyro sensor 16 can be suppressed from being increased,and the cost of the gyro sensor 16 can be suppressed from beingincreased.

It should be noted that the first and second registers 30 and 31 areexemplified in FIG. 2, but the present invention is not limited to thenumber. Specifically, the gyro sensor 16 may have a register other thanthe second register 31 storing the positional information and the firstregister 30 storing the sensitivity deviation information.

<Configuration of Semiconductor Device 17>

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of thesemiconductor device 17. The semiconductor device 17 is a motor drivingsemiconductor device that controls the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d inresponse to the positional information and the sensitivity deviationinformation from the gyro sensor 16. Specifically, the semiconductordevice 17 includes a gyro signal processing unit 40 that outputs gyropositional information 60 in response to the positional information andthe sensitivity deviation information, from the gyro sensor 16, a driversignal processing unit (processing unit) 41 that outputs a motor controlsignal (driving signal) 61 in response to the gyro positionalinformation 60 from the gyro signal processing unit 40, and amicrocontroller (hereinafter, referred to as MCU) 42 that controls thegyro signal processing unit 40 and the driver signal processing unit 41.The gyro signal processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as Gprocessing unit) 40, the driver signal processing unit (hereinafter,referred to as D processing unit) 41, and the MCU 42 are formed on onesemiconductor chip substrate in a well-known semiconductor manufacturingtechnique. However, the present invention is not particularly limited tothis.

The semiconductor device 17 is provided with a plurality of externalterminals. However, external terminals 50 to 54 among those areillustrated in FIG. 3. Of these external terminals 50 to 54, inparticular, the external terminal 50 is an external terminal thatcouples the gyro sensor 16 to the semiconductor device 17, and theexternal terminal 53 is an external terminal that couples the voice coilmotors 14 a to 14 d to the semiconductor device 17.

The external terminal 50 is electrically coupled to the externalterminal 34 of the gyro sensor 16 shown in FIG. 2. The external terminal50 is an input/output terminal for serial communications. Thesemiconductor device 17 serially supplies the designation information tothe external terminal 34 of the gyro sensor 16 through the externalterminal 50, and serially receives the positional information and thesensitivity deviation information from the external terminal 34 of thegyro sensor 16. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each of the external terminals 34and 50 is illustrated as one external terminal. However, it is to beunderstood that each of the external terminals 34 and 50 includes aplurality of external terminals. Specifically, the external terminal 34has an input terminal that serially receives the designation informationoutput from the semiconductor device 17, and one (common) outputterminal that serially transmits the positional information and thesensitivity deviation information to the semiconductor device 17 in atime-division manner. Further, the external terminal 50 has an outputterminal that serially outputs the designation information to the gyrosensor 16, and one (common) input terminal that serially receives thepositional information and the sensitivity deviation information fromthe gyro sensor 16 in a time-division manner.

Each of the external terminals 34 and 50 may have an external terminalfor a synchronizing clock signal other than the input terminal and theoutput terminal. In this case, the semiconductor device 17 has an outputterminal that outputs a synchronizing clock signal, and the gyro sensor16 has an input terminal that receives the synchronizing clock signal.In synchronization with the synchronizing clock signal, the designationinformation is serially supplied to the gyro sensor 16 from thesemiconductor device 17. On the other hand, the gyro sensor 16 seriallysupplies the positional information and the sensitivity deviationinformation to the semiconductor device 17 in synchronization with thesupplied synchronizing clock signal.

It is to be understood that the external terminal 53 also has aplurality of external terminals. Specifically, the external terminal 53has four external terminals associated with the voice coil motors 14 ato 14 d, and the motor control signal (driving signal) 61 is output fromeach of the external terminals to the corresponding voice coil motor.

The G processing unit 40 includes a serial communication circuit 43, afilter circuit 44, a first gain control amplifier 45, a second gaincontrol amplifier 46, and a holding circuit 47. In this case, theholding circuit 47 is a holding circuit (second holding circuit) thatholds the sensitivity deviation information, and is configured using,for example, a register.

The serial communication circuit 43 is controlled by the MCU 42. Whenthe positional information is supplied to the external terminal 50, theserial communication circuit 43 supplies the supplied positionalinformation 62 to the filter circuit 44. When the sensitivity deviationinformation is supplied to the external terminal 50, the serialcommunication circuit 43 supplies the supplied sensitivity deviationinformation 63 to the holding circuit 47. Further, the serialcommunication circuit 43 receives the designation information from theMCU 42, and outputs the same to the external terminal 50.

Under the control of the MCU 42, for example, the serial communicationcircuit 43 first outputs the first address designating the firstregister 30 (FIG. 2) to the external terminal 50 as the designationinformation from the MCU 42. When the control circuit 33 (FIG. 2)receives the designation information designating the first addressthrough the serial communication circuit 32 (FIG. 2) in the gyro sensor16, the control circuit 33 controls the switch 35 to supply thesensitivity deviation information stored in the first register 30 to theserial communication circuit 32 (FIG. 2). Accordingly, the serialcommunication circuit 32 outputs the supplied sensitivity deviationinformation from the external terminal 34 (FIG. 2). The MCU 42 outputsthe designation information designating the first register 30, and thencontrols the serial communication circuit 43 to supply the serialinformation supplied to the external terminal 50 to the holding circuit47 on the assumption that the information, supplied to the externalterminal 50 is the sensitivity deviation information. Accordingly, thesensitivity deviation information output from the gyro sensor 16 issupplied to the holding circuit 47 as the sensitivity deviationinformation 63, and the sensitivity deviation information 63 is held inthe holding circuit 47.

Next, the MCU 42 controls the serial communication circuit 43 to outputthe second address designating the second register 31 (FIG. 2) as thedesignation information from the external terminal 50. Accordingly, thedesignation information designating the second register 31 is suppliedfrom the serial communication circuit 43 to the serial communicationcircuit 32 (FIG. 2) in the gyro sensor 16 through the external terminals50 and 34 (FIG. 2). When the designation information designating thesecond register 31 is supplied from the serial communication circuit 32to the control circuit 33, the control circuit 33 controls the switch 35to supply the positional information stored in the second register 31 tothe serial communication circuit 32. As a result, the serialcommunication circuit 32 supplies the supplied positional information tothe external terminal 50 through the external terminal 34. Accordingly,the positional information is supplied to the serial communicationcircuit 43. On the other hand, the MCU 42 outputs the designationinformation designating the second register 31, and then controls theserial communication circuit 43 to supply the information supplied tothe external terminal 50 to the filter circuit 44 on the assumption thatthe information supplied to the external terminal 50 is the positionalinformation. Accordingly, the positional information output from thegyro sensor 16 is supplied to the filter circuit 44 through the serialcommunication circuit 43.

The control circuit 33 controls the switch 35 to supply the positionalinformation stored in the second register 31 to the serial communicationcircuit 32 in the gyro sensor 16 until the designation informationdesignating the first register 30 is supplied again. However, thepresent invention is not particularly limited to this. The positionalinformation is periodically supplied from the angular velocity detectionunit 36 to the second register 31, and the updated positionalinformation is stored in the second register 31. As a result, theupdated positional information is continuously output from the gyrosensor 16 until the designation information designating the firstregister 30 is supplied next. The MCU 42 controls the serialcommunication circuit 43 to supply the positional information 62 fromthe serial communication circuit 43 to the filter circuit 44 even in thesemiconductor device 17 on the assumption that the informationperiodically supplied to the external terminal 50 is the positionalinformation. Accordingly, the positional information from the gyrosensor 16 is continuously supplied to the filter circuit 44 as thepositional information 62.

The filter circuit 44 functions to remove noise contained in thesupplied positional information 62. The positional information 64 withthe noise removed is supplied to the first gain control amplifier 45 tobe amplified. The positional information 65 amplified by the first gaincontrol amplifier 45 is amplified by the second gain control amplifier46, and is supplied to the D processing unit 41 as the gyro positionalinformation 60.

In this case, the gain of the second gain control amplifier 46 is set onthe basis of the sensitivity deviation information 66 stored in theholding circuit 47. As described above, the holding circuit 47 storesthe sensitivity deviation information 63 supplied from the gyro sensor16, and supplies the stored sensitivity deviation information to thesecond gain control amplifier 46 as the sensitivity deviationinformation 66. On the basis of the sensitivity deviation information66, the gain of the second gain control amplifier 46 is set. On theother hand, a reference gain that is common among a plurality of gyrosensors 16 is set for the first gain control amplifier 45.

The sensitivity of the angular velocity detection unit 36 in the gyrosensor 16 varies depending on the gyro sensor 16. Specifically, in thecase of a plurality of gyro sensors 16, the sensitivity differsdepending on the gyro sensor 16. Therefore, the sensitivity deviation ofeach gyro sensor 16 is calibrated in the gyro sensor manufacturingprocess, and the sensitivity of each gyro sensor 16 is corrected so asto fall within a predetermined range. For example, a referencesensitivity (predetermined sensitivity) is set for a plurality of gyrosensors 16, and higher and lower ranges of the sensitivity relative tothe reference sensitivity are set. Then, the sensitivity of each gyrosensor 16 is corrected so as to fall within a range (predeterminedrange) between the higher and lower ranges of the sensitivity. Forexample, while the reference sensitivity is set at 0, the sensitivity ofeach gyro sensor 16 is corrected so as to fall within a range between+3% and −3% in the gyro sensor manufacturing process. In other words,the sensitivity of each gyro sensor 16 is corrected so as to fall withina range of +3%.

In the gyro sensor manufacturing process, the sensitivity of each gyrosensor 16 is corrected to fall within a predetermined range, thedifference of the sensitivity relative to the reference sensitivity,namely, the deviation of the sensitivity (sensitivity deviation) isobtained, and the information (sensitivity deviation information) of theobtained sensitivity deviation is stored in the first register 30 to beprovided. For example, in the case where the gyro sensor 16 is correctedand the sensitivity thereof is deviated by +2% relative to the referencesensitivity, the sensitivity deviation information of +2% is stored inthe first register 30 in the gyro sensor manufacturing process toprovide the gyro sensor 16. As similar to the above, if the sensitivityis deviated by −1% relative to the reference sensitivity, thesensitivity deviation information of −1% is stored in the first register30 to provide the gyro sensor 16.

Thus, the gain of the second gain control amplifier 46 is set inaccordance with the value of the sensitivity deviation relative to thereference sensitivity. In this case, the gain of the second gain controlamplifier 46 is set to be decreased for the deviation of the sensitivitythat becomes higher relative to the reference sensitivity. On the otherhand, the gain of the second gain control amplifier 46 is set to beincreased for the deviation of the sensitivity that becomes lowerrelative to the reference sensitivity. In the case of the sensitivitydeviation information 66 of +2% in the above-described example, the gainof the second gain control amplifier 46 is set to be decreased by, forexample, 2%. On the contrary, in the case of the sensitivity deviationinformation 66 of −1%, the gain of the second gain control amplifier 46is set to be increased by, for example, 1%. In the case of thesensitivity deviation information 66 of 0%, the gain of the second gaincontrol amplifier 46 is set at 1, and the second gain control amplifier46 does not amplify. However, the present invention is not particularlylimited to this.

The setting of the gain of the first gain control amplifier 45 will bedescribed following the description of the D processing unit 41.

The D processing unit 41 includes a PID (Proportional-IntegralDerivative) controller unit 48 and a driver circuit 49. The PIDcontroller unit 48 compares the position represented by the gyropositional information 60 with that of the optical image stabilizer(OIS) unit 22 (FIG. 1), and forms a driving control signal 67 thatallows the position of the optical image stabilizer (OIS) unit 22 andthat represented by the gyro positional information 60 to match eachother. The driver circuit 49 forms the motor control signal (drivingsignal) 61 that drives the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d on the basisof the driving control signal 67, and supplies the same to the voicecoil motors 14 a to 14 d through the external terminal 53.

The setting of the gain of the first gain control amplifier 45 will bedescribed below. As described above, as the gain of the first gaincontrol amplifier 45, the common reference gain is set for the gyrosensors 16. The gain set for the second gain control amplifier 46 isassociated with the sensitivity deviation information. Therefore, thereference gain set for the first gain control amplifier 45 can beregarded to be associated with the reference sensitivity used when thesensitivity deviation is set.

The reference gain is set at a value at which an image captured by thecamera module 10 (FIG. 1) is immobilized when the camera module 10having one of the gyro sensors 16 with the reference sensitivity mountedis swung. For example, the camera module 10 having the reference gyrosensor 16 mounted is physically swung while changing the gain of thefirst gain control amplifier 45. When the camera module 10 is swung, thecaptured image also blurs due to the characteristics of the cameramodule 10 except the gyro sensor 16. In this case, the characteristicsof the camera module 10 are set on the basis of the characteristics of,for example, the filter circuit 44, the driver circuit 49, and the PIDcontroller unit 48 included in the semiconductor device 17. The value ofthe gain of the first gain control amplifier 45 is obtained so as toimmobilize the captured image even when the camera module 10 is swung.Accordingly, the reference gain with the characteristics of the cameramodule 10 reflected can be obtained. In other words, the reference gainis a gain associated with the sensitivity with the characteristics ofthe camera module 10 reflected, and can be regarded as the referencegain common to a plurality of camera modules 10.

It should be noted that when the gain of the first gain controlamplifier 45 is obtained, it is desirable to prevent amplification andattenuation in the second gain control amplifier 46 while setting thegain of the second gain control amplifier 46 at 1.

In the first embodiment, an output of the first gain control amplifier45 is supplied to an input of the second gain control amplifier 46.Therefore, an operation (product) between the reference gain set for thefirst gain control amplifier 45 and the gain on the basis of thesensitivity deviation information set for the second gain controlamplifier 46 corresponds to an amplification factor for the positionalinformation 64. The reference gain is represented by a reference gainparameter common to the camera modules 10 or the gyro sensors 16.Therefore, the amplification factor in each camera module can beregarded to be set by an operation between the reference gain parameterand the gain associated with the sensitivity deviation informationunique to the gyro sensor to be mounted.

In the example of FIG. 3, the external terminal 50 is used as a commonexternal terminal that receives the positional information and thesensitivity deviation information in a time-division manner. However,external terminals that are different from each other may be provided inthe semiconductor device 17. Specifically, a first external terminalthat receives the positional information and a second external terminalthat receives the sensitivity deviation information may be provided.

<Correction Method of Camera Module>

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for showing a correction method of a cameramodule. FIG. 4 shows steps performed in a gyro sensor manufacturingprocess and steps performed in a module assembly process in which theprovided gyro sensor 16 is mounted in the camera module 10.Specifically, Step S10 (calibration of the gyro sensor 16) shows stepsperformed in the gyro sensor manufacturing process, and Step S20(adjustment of the camera module) shows steps performed in the moduleassembly process. It is obvious that it is not necessary to continuouslyperform Step S10 and Step S20. Next, the correction method will bedescribed using FIG. 1 to FIG. 4.

First, the correction is started in Step S0. In Step S1, the gyro sensor16 shown in FIG. 2 is started to be physically vibrated. In Step S2, thedeviation of the sensitivity of the positional information output fromthe angular velocity detection unit 36 is measured. Since the deviationof the sensitivity does not fall within a predetermined range (±3), theangular velocity detection unit 36 is adjusted to correct the deviationof the sensitivity of the positional information output from the angularvelocity detection unit 36 in Step S3.

Next, in Step S4, the value of the deviation of the positionalinformation corrected in Step S3 is obtained to determine whether or notthe value falls within the predetermined range (in the flowchart,described as “is deviation within reference?”). If the value does notfall within the predetermined range, Steps S2 to S4 are executed untilthe value falls within the predetermined range. On the other hand, it isdetermined in Step S4 that the value falls within the predeterminedrange, the value of the deviation obtained in Step S4 is stored in thefirst register (first holding circuit) 30 as correction information(Step S5). It should be noted that the physical vibration of the gyrosensor 16 is continued until the value of the deviation falls within thepredetermined range in Step S4. However, the present invention is notparticularly limited to this.

Steps S1 to S5 are performed for each gyro sensor 16, and thus thesensitivity deviation information (correction information) on the basisof the sensitivity deviation of the positional information is stored inthe first register 30 of each gyro sensor 16. In FIG. 4, Steps S1 to S4can be regarded as a correction process (first correction process), andStep S5 can be regarded as a storing process (first storing process).

Next, although not shown in FIG. 4, the gyro sensor 16 is mounted in thecamera module 10 in a preparation process as shown in FIG. 1. In thecamera module 10 having the gyro sensor 16 mounted, the semiconductordevice 17 performs the following steps. In this case, the MCU 42 (FIG.3) in the semiconductor device 17 performs the following steps inaccordance with a program (not shown).

First, the MCU 42 serially supplies the designation informationdesignating the first register 30 from the semiconductor device 17 tothe gyro sensor 16. Accordingly, the gyro sensor 16 serially suppliesthe sensitivity deviation information (correction information) stored inthe first register 30 to the semiconductor device 17 (outputtingprocess). The serial communication circuit 43 in the semiconductordevice 17 reads the supplied sensitivity deviation information(correction information), and supplies the same to the holding circuit47 to store the sensitivity deviation information (correctioninformation) 63 in the holding circuit 47 (Step S6: reading process).

The sensitivity deviation information (correction information) 66 storedin the holding circuit 47 is supplied to the second gain controlamplifier 46. The gain of the second gain control amplifier 46 is set onthe basis of the sensitivity deviation information (correctioninformation) 66. In this case, the gain of the first gain controlamplifier 45 is set in advance on the basis of the reference gainparameter. As a result, the gain parameter and the sensitivity deviationinformation (correction information) are integrated by the first gaincontrol amplifier 45 and the second gain control amplifier 46 (Step S7:second correction process).

It should be noted that, as described above, the reference gainparameter is obtained in advance by physically swinging the cameramodule 10 having the reference gyro sensor 16 mounted, and is stored ineach semiconductor device 17 before Step S6. For example, anelectrically rewritable non-volatile memory is provided in the firstgain control amplifier 45, and the preliminarily-obtained reference gainparameter is written. Accordingly, an operation between the referencegain parameter and the sensitivity deviation information (correctioninformation) can be performed in Step S7 (operation process).

As described above, the reference gain parameter is stored in advance inthe semiconductor device 17, but the present invention is not limited tothis. For example, the reference gain parameter may be supplied to andset for the first gain control amplifier 45 in Step S6 or S7.

Further, a total parameter holding circuit is provided in thesemiconductor device 17, and an operation between the reference gainparameter and the sensitivity deviation information (correctioninformation) read in Step S6 is performed to obtain a total gainparameter which may be stored in the total parameter holding circuitprovided in the semiconductor device 17. The operation may be performedin the operation process in Step S7, and the total gain parameter may bestored in the total gain parameter holding circuit in a second storingprocess provided between, for example, Step S7 and Step S8. In thiscase, the first gain control amplifier 45 and the second gain controlamplifier 46 may be configured using one gain control amplifier to setthe gain of the one gain control amplifier on the basis of the totalgain parameter held in the total parameter holding circuit.

The total parameter holding circuit is configured using an electricallyrewritable non-volatile memory. Accordingly, if the gain of the gaincontrol amplifier is set on the basis of the total gain parameter fromthe total parameter holding circuit even when the power of the cameramodule 10 is turned on again after the power of the camera module 10 isturned off, a gain in accordance with the sensitivity of the gyro sensormounted in the camera module can be set for the gain control amplifier.

There is also a correction method of the camera module as shown in FIG.7. In the correction method shown in FIG. 7, the correction is performedin Step S100 (calibration of the gyro sensor) and Step S200 (adjustmentof the camera module). In Step S100, steps similar to Steps S1 to S4shown in FIG. 4 are performed. Specifically, the gyro sensor is startedto be vibrated in Step S1, the deviation is measured in Step S2, and thedeviation is corrected in Step S3. It is determined in Step S4 whetheror not the deviation falls within the reference, and Steps S2 to S4 arerepeated until the deviation falls within the reference. When it isdetermined in Step S4 that the deviation falls within the reference, thegyro sensor manufacturing process is finished, and the gyro sensor isprovided. In this case, Steps S2 to S3 are repeated until the deviationfalls within the reference in Step S4. Accordingly, the sensitivity ofeach gyro sensor provided from the gyro sensor manufacturing processfalls within the predetermined range.

Next, the gyro sensor is mounted in the camera module, and the cameramodule is adjusted in Step S200. Specifically, the camera module havingthe gyro sensor mounted is started to be vibrated in Step S201. In StepS202, the gain parameter of the semiconductor device that receives anoutput from the gyro sensor is incremented or decremented. Next, animage is determined in a state where the gain parameter is incremented(or decremented) in Step S203. It is determined in Step S204 whether ornot the image from the vibrating camera module is immobilized. If theimage is not immobilized (No), Steps S202 to S204 are repeatedlyexecuted until it is determined (Yes) that the image is immobilized. Thegain parameter when it is determined that the image is immobilized isstored in the semiconductor device in Step S205, and the correction isfinished (Step S8).

In the first embodiment, the sensitivity can be corrected in accordancewith each gyro sensor 16 without physically vibrating each cameramodule, as compared to the correction method described using FIG. 7. Asa result, the cost of the camera module can be prevented from beingincreased while preventing the swing suppression ratio from beingdeteriorated. Specifically, facilities and processes to physicallyvibrate (swing) the respective camera modules can be reduced, and thusthe cost can be suppressed from being increased.

Further, the information of the sensitivity deviation may be stored inthe first register 30 without performing Steps S1 to S4 performed in thegyro sensor manufacturing process, namely, the steps in which thesensitivity is allowed to fall within the predetermined range. In thiscase, a gain in accordance with the sensitivity of each gyro sensor 16can be set in Steps S6 and S7 of FIG. 4, and further the cost can besuppressed. Further, in this case, it is not necessary to vibrate thegyro sensor in the gyro sensor manufacturing process, and thusfacilities and processes to physically vibrate the respective gyrosensors can be reduced

Here, a correction operation in the semiconductor device 17 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4. In Step S6, the sensitivitydeviation information is serially read from the gyro sensor 16(sensitivity deviation information reading process). On the basis of thesensitivity deviation information read in the reading process (Step S6),each gain of the gain control amplifiers (first and second gain controlamplifiers 45 and 45) when the positional information is amplified isset in Step S7 (correction process).

The MCU 42 in the semiconductor device 17 supplies the designationinformation designating the second register 31 to the gyro sensor 16using the serial communication circuit 43. In response to thedesignation information, not the sensitivity deviation information butthe positional information is serially supplied from the gyro sensor 16to the external terminal 50 of the semiconductor device 17. Thesemiconductor device 17 reads the positional information (positionalinformation reading process). The read positional information isamplified by the gain control amplifier having the gain set in thecorrection process, and is supplied to the D processing unit as the gyropositional information 60.

It should be noted that an operation between the reference gainparameter and the sensitivity deviation information is performed in thecorrection process, and the gain of the gain control amplifier is set inaccordance with the value obtained by the operation.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of a semiconductordevice 17 according to a second embodiment. The configuration of thesemiconductor device 17 shown in FIG. 5 is similar to that shown in FIG.3. Therefore, only different features will be mainly described below.

In the second embodiment, the hole sensors 15 a and 15 b shown in FIG. 1are used to control the position of the optical image stabilizer unit 22(FIG. 1). Because the hole sensors 15 a and 15 b are used, a cameramodule 10 shown in FIG. 5 has a D processing unit 80 that is differentfrom that of the camera module shown in FIG. 3. It should be noted thatthe same reference numerals are given to the same constitutionalelements in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, and the explanation for the sameconstitutional elements will be omitted. The D processing unit 80includes a PID control unit 48, a driver circuit 49, a subtractioncircuit 70, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 71, and a holeamplifier 72.

In FIG. 5, the reference numeral 74 denotes magnetic field couplingbetween magnets 13 b to 13 c moved by voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d andthe hole sensors 15 a and 15 b. When the optical image stabilizer unit22 having the magnets 13 a to 13 d mounted is moved by the magneticfield generated from the voice coil motors 14 a to 14 d, the holesensors 15 a and 15 b output hole positional information 73 due to achange in the magnetic field. The hole positional information 73 issupplied to the hole amplifier 72 through an external terminal 55 of asemiconductor device 17. The hole amplifier 72 amplifies the holepositional information 73 that is an analog signal, and supplies thesame to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 71. Theanalog-to-digital conversion circuit 71 converts the hole positionalinformation 73 into hole positional information 75 of a digital signalto be supplied to the subtraction circuit 70. The subtraction circuit 70performs a digital subtraction between the gyro positional informationfrom a G processing unit 40 and the hole positional information 75, andsupplies the result to the PID control unit 48. It should be noted thatthe reference numeral 56 denotes an external terminal of thesemiconductor device 17 in FIG. 5.

In the second embodiment, the position of the optical image stabilizerunit 22 is recognized by the hole sensors 15 a and 15 b, and isreflected on gyro positional information 60. Accordingly, the opticalimage stabilizer unit 22 can be moved to a desired position in a shortertime.

In the first and second embodiments, the MCU 42 is provided in thesemiconductor device 17, and the G processing unit 40 and the Dprocessing units 41 and 80 are controlled by the MCU 42. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this. Specifically, a logic circuitincluding a sequential circuit may be used instead of the MCU 42.Further, a control circuit 33 provided in a gyro sensor 16 may beconfigured using the MCU.

Further, the processing unit 80 has a function of processing signals ofthe hole sensors in the second embodiment, and thus may be regarded as ahole sensor processing unit.

<Supplementary Note>

A plurality of inventions is disclosed in the specification, and someare described in Claims. However, the inventions other than those arealso disclosed, and the representative one will be described below.

-   (A) A gyro sensor comprising:

a first register that stores angular velocity information;

a second register that stores sensitivity deviation information of theangular velocity information stored in the first register;

a serial communication circuit; and

a control circuit that selects the first register or the second registerin accordance with designation information supplied through the serialcommunication circuit,

wherein when the first register is selected by the control circuit, theangular velocity information stored in the first register is outputthrough the serial communication circuit, and when the second registeris selected by the control circuit, the sensitivity deviationinformation stored in the second register is output through the serialcommunication circuit.

-   (B) The gyro sensor according to (A),

wherein the sensitivity deviation information is a deviation between apredetermined sensitivity and the sensitivity of the angular velocityinformation.

The invention made by the inventors has been concretely described aboveon the basis of the embodiments. However, it is obvious that the presentinvention is not limited to the embodiments, but can be variouslychanged without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device coupled to a device thatoutputs positional information representing a position, thesemiconductor device comprising: a first external terminal to which thepositional information is supplied; and a second external terminal,wherein sensitivity deviation information representing the deviation ofthe sensitivity of the device is received through the second externalterminal, and a gain to amplify the positional information from thefirst external terminal is set on the basis of the sensitivity deviationinformation; wherein the first external terminal and the second externalterminal are the same external terminals, and the positional informationand the sensitivity deviation information are supplied in atime-division manner, wherein the device outputs a deviation between thesensitivity of the device and a predetermined sensitivity as thesensitivity deviation information, and wherein the semiconductor deviceincludes a gain control amplifier that amplifies the positionalinformation, and the gain of the gain control amplifier is set on thebasis of a value obtained by an operation between a parameter associatedwith the predetermined sensitivity and the sensitivity deviationinformation.
 2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, whereinthe semiconductor device includes a total parameter holding circuit thatholds the value obtained by the operation between the parameterassociated with the predetermined sensitivity and the sensitivitydeviation information.
 3. A semiconductor device coupled to a devicethat outputs positional information representing a position, thesemiconductor device comprising: a first external terminal to which thepositional information is supplied; and a second external terminal,wherein sensitivity deviation information representing the deviation ofthe sensitivity of the device is received through the second externalterminal, and a gain to amplify the positional information from thefirst external terminal is set on the basis of the sensitivity deviationinformation; wherein the first external terminal and the second externalterminal are the same external terminals, and the positional informationand the sensitivity deviation information are supplied in atime-division manner, wherein the device outputs a deviation between thesensitivity of the device and a predetermined sensitivity as thesensitivity deviation information, and wherein the semiconductor deviceincludes a first gain control amplifier and a second gain controlamplifier that amplify the positional information, the gain of thesecond gain control amplifier is set on the basis of the sensitivitydeviation information, and the first gain control amplifier is coupledto the second gain control amplifier so that a gain to amplify thepositional information is set on the basis of a value obtained by anoperation between the gain parameter of the first gain control amplifierand the sensitivity deviation information.
 4. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the semiconductor device includes a secondholding circuit that holds the sensitivity deviation information.
 5. Asemiconductor device coupled to a device that outputs positionalinformation representing a position, the semiconductor devicecomprising: a first external terminal to which the positionalinformation is supplied; and a second external terminal, whereinsensitivity deviation information representing the deviation of thesensitivity of the device is received through the second externalterminal, and a gain to amplify the positional information from thefirst external terminal is set on the basis of the sensitivity deviationinformation; wherein the first external terminal and the second externalterminal are the same external terminals, and the positional informationand the sensitivity deviation information are supplied in atime-division manner, wherein the semiconductor device includes aprocessing unit that forms a driving signal driving a motor on the basisof the amplified positional information, wherein the device comprises agyro sensor, and wherein the processing unit forms the driving signal onthe basis of a signal from a hole sensor that detects a position changedby the motor and the amplified positional information.